Artificial floral design for decorating the side view mirror of a vehicle

ABSTRACT

An artificial floral design detachably attaches an artificial flower to a side mirror of a vehicle for decorative purposes and to signify a special event. The artificial flower displays prominently, such that onlookers can easily view the artificial flower. The artificial floral design for decorating a side view mirror of a vehicle is composed of three main elements, a strap, an artificial flower attachment means that mounts onto the strap, and an artificial flower that detachably attaches to the artificial flower attachment means.

CROSS REFERENCE

The present application claims the priority benefit of U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 61,181,529 filed on Jun. 18, 2015 by the sameinventor. The entire content of the provisional application isincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

The following background information may present examples of specificaspects of the prior art (e.g., without limitation, approaches, facts,or common wisdom) that, while expected to be helpful to further educatethe reader as to additional aspects of the prior art, is not to beconstrued as limiting the present invention, or any embodiments thereof,to anything stated or implied therein or inferred thereupon.

The present invention is directed to an artificial floral design fordecorating a side view mirror of a vehicle.

Typically, artificial flowers are made from different constructionmaterials such as plastics, silk, paper, fabric or the like. Artificialflowers usually have plastic stems which are often colored green andpetal sections which can be several colors such as white, red, yellow,etc. These petal sections generally are separate foils or silk coloredand shaped sheets that are attached together to simulate a naturalflower. The artificial flowers are often used to fit into vases, todecorate centerpieces, and to decorate cars or floats.

The inventor recognized that the ornamental effect of flowers could beused to decorate a vehicle for special events, such as weddings,parties, funerals, and parades. The colorful and symbolic aspects offlowers could be displayed externally on a vehicle to signify specialevents in an ornamental manner. The inventor saw a need for attachingflowers to the side view mirror of a vehicle for easy visibility andattachment.

The inventor recognized a problem in that, since the flowers weremounted externally to the vehicle, they would be destroyed by externalelements, such as wind, rain, ice, and impact. The inventor decided touse artificial flowers made of rubber or foam. This not only enhanceddurability of the artificial flowers, but also allowed the inventorenhanced the artificial flowers with fluorescent paint.

The inventor, next needed to devise a mounting mechanism for theartificial flower. Through additional research, the inventor learnedthat different models of vehicles used different sizes of arms for theirside mirrors. The inventor recognized that an adjustable diameter wasneeded for the fastening mechanism to attach the artificial flower tothe side mirror.

Through research, the inventor learned that the best manner for her tothe side view mirror would be provide a strap that would wrap around theperimeter of an arm of a side view mirror and that would have anadjustment mechanism that would allow an artificial flower to be snappedor inserted into a specific location of the strap. Through trial anderror, the inventor learned that a selective locking mechanismscomprising of a protrusion on one end of the strap and a linear seriesof holes on the other end of the strap would allow the strap to besecurely placed around the perimeter of the arm of the side view mirror.In addition, the liner series of holes that run from one end of thestrap toward the other end of the strap provide a flower arrangementattaching mechanism that allows an artificial flower to snapped into oneof the holes at a desired display location.

Artificial ornaments have been utilized in the past; yet none with thepresent ornamental and durability characteristics of the presentinvention. See U.S. Pat. No. 3,228,721, 5,698,275, and 765,124.

For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for an artificial flowerdesign that detachably mounts on a side view mirror of a vehicle thatuses a perimeter adjustable mounting mechanism.

SUMMARY

The Present invention is directed to an artificial flower design thatdetachably mounts on the side view mirror of a vehicle using a perimeteradjustable mounting mechanism

The artificial floral design for decorating a side view mirror of avehicle of the present invention is composed of three main elements, astrap, an artificial flower attachment means that mounts onto the strap,and an artificial flower that detachably attaches to the artificialflower attachment means.

The strap has a first and a second end, adjacent to the first end aprotrusion is defined and running from the second end toward the firstend a linear series of apertures are defined on the strap. The linearseries of apertures are spaced at least one quarter of an inch apart.The protrusion will have an outer head that narrows toward the strap sothat when the protrusion is inserted within one of the apertures of thestrap, the strap will form a closed loop. The strap, when in the closedloop position shall be the side view mirror vehicle mounting means ofthe present invention.

The artificial flower attachment means has a top and a bottom side, theartificial flower attachment means is composed of a housing that acceptsthe stem of an artificial flower on its top side and that defines anartificial flower attachment protrusion on its bottom side. Theartificial flower protrusion has an outer head that narrows toward thehousing so that when the protrusion is inserted within one of theapertures of the strap, the artificial flower attachment means shall besecured on the strap at a desired location determined by the user of thepresent invention.

The artificial flower defines a stem that is securely inserted withinthe top side of the artificial flower attachment means.

One objective of the present invention is to provide an artificialflower design that will be used to decorate the side view mirror of avehicle to signify a special event.

Another objective of the present invention is to provide an artificialflower design that can be detachably mounted on most side view mirrorsof vehicles to signify a special event.

Yet another objective of the present invention is to provide a durableartificial flower that withstands wind, rain, ice, and impact whenmounted on a side view mirror of a vehicle.

Yet another objective of the present invention is to provide aninexpensive to produce an inexpensive to manufacture artificial floraldesign for decorating a side view mirror of a vehicle.

DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the presentinvention will become better understood with regard to the followingdescription, appended claims, and drawings where:

FIG. 1 is a top view of the present invention the artificial flowerattachment means of the present invention mounted on the strap;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the present invention showing the invention ina closed loop position, the flower is not inserted within the artificialflower attachment means;

FIG. 3 shows the strap of the present invention wherein the protrusionof the artificial attachment means is within an aperture of the strap;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the present invention, wherein all threeelements of the present invention are shown prior to the attachment ofthe elements; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the present invention, wherein theelements are connected to each other.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention, referenced in FIGS. 1-5, describes an artificialfloral design for decorating a side view mirror of a vehicle 100. Theartificial floral design for decorating a side view of a vehicle 100comprises of three main elements, a strap 10, an artificial flowerattachment means 20 that mounts onto the strap 10, and an artificialflower 30 that detachably attaches to the artificial flower attachmentmeans 20.

The strap 10 has a first 10 a and a second end 10 b, adjacent to thefirst end 10 a a protrusion 12 is defined and runs from the second end10 b toward the first end 10 a a linear series of apertures 14 aredefined on the strap 10. The linear series of apertures 14 are spaced atleast one quarter of an inch apart. The protrusion 12 will have an outerhead 12 a that narrows toward the strap 10 so that when the protrusion12 is inserted within one of the apertures 14 of the strap 10, the strap10 will form a closed loop. The strap 10, when in the closed loopposition shall be referred to as the side view mirror vehicle mountingmeans of the present invention. The strap 10 shall have a length of atleast 8 inches.

The artificial flower attachment means 20 has a top 20 a and a bottomside 20 b, the artificial flower attachment means 20 is composed of ahousing 21 that accepts a stem 32 of an artificial flower 30 on its topside 20 a and that defines an artificial flower attachment protrusion 22on its bottom side 20 b. The artificial flower protrusion 22 has anouter head 22 a that narrows toward the bottom side of the artificialflower attachment means 21 so that when the protrusion is insertedwithin one of the apertures 14 of the strap 10, the artificial flowerattachment means 20 shall be secured on the strap 10 at a desiredlocation determined by the user of the present invention. In oneembodiment, the artificial flower attachment means comprises of twoseparate compartments 24 and 25 that snap together after the stem 32 ofthe flower 30 is inserted within the top side of the artificial flowerattachment means 20 a.

The artificial flower 30 defines a stern 32 that is securely insertedwithin the top side of the artificial flower attachment means 20 a.

In some embodiments, the artificial flower design 100 may detachablyattach to a side mirror on the vehicle. In another embodiment, multipleartificial flowers not shown in figures) may be interchangeable on theside mirror of the vehicle, The side mirror may be, without limitation,a driver side or a passenger side mirror. Those skilled in the art willrecognize that the side mirror has an arm that connects the side mirrorto the vehicle and helps orient the side mirror for a desired rear view.

As shown in FIGS. 4-5, the artificial flower 30 comprises a decorativeend 30 and a stem 32. The decorative end 30 is configured to beresilient for maintaining structural integrity while exposed to externalelements. Those skilled in the art will recognize that since theartificial flower 30 positions externally to a moving vehicle, it mustbe sufficiently resilient to withstand external elements, such as wind,rain, ice, and impact. Suitable materials for the artificial flower 30may include, without limitation, foam rubber, and flexible polymers. Inone possible embodiment, the artificial flower 30 has fluorescentcoating that enables a glow in the dark effect.

In some embodiments, the decorative end 30 of the artificial flower 30may be shaped and colored to correspond to a real flower. Thus, thedecorative end 30 may resemble, without limitation, a daisy, noose, atulip, lilac, a garland, and a chrysanthemum. The decorative end 30 mayinclude, without limitation, petals, leaves, stems, and flower and plantmaterials that create a pleasing and balanced composition. In onealternative embodiment, the decorative end 106 may form a floralarrangement, including, without limitation, a wreaths, nosegays,garlands, festoons, boutonnieres, corsages, and bows.

Those skilled in the art, in light of the present teachings, willrecognize that the decorative end 30 is used to provide ornamentaleffect to the vehicle for a variety of events, including, withoutlimitation, parties, weddings, funerals, parades, and holidays.

One advantage of the present invention is that it provides an artificialflower design that is used to decorate the side view mirror of avehicle.

Another advantage of the present invention is that it provides anartificial flower design that can be detachably mounted on most sideview mirrors of vehicles.

Yet another advantage of the present invention is that it provides adurable artificial flower that withstands wind, rain, ice, and impactwhen mounted on a side view mirror of a vehicle.

Yet another advantage of the present invention is that it provides aninexpensive to produce an inexpensive to manufacture artificial floraldesign for decorating a side view mirror of a vehicle.

While the inventor's above description contains many specificities,these should not be construed as limitations on the scope, but rather asan exemplification of several preferred embodiments thereof Many othervariations are possible. For example, the artificial flower could attachto other sections of the vehicle, such as the bumper, the roof, ort thesteering wheel. Accordingly, the scope should be determined not by theembodiments illustrated, but by the appended claims and their legalequivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. An artificial floral design for decorating avehicle, the floral design comprising: a strap that has a first and asecond end, adjacent to the first end a protrusion is defined and runsfrom the second end toward the first end, a linear series of aperturesare defined on the strap, the linear series of apertures are spaced atleast one quarter of an inch apart, and the protrusion has an outer headthat narrows toward the strap so that when the protrusion is insertedwithin one of the apertures of the strap the strap forms a closed loop;an artificial flower attachment means that has a top and a bottom side,the artificial flower attachment means is composed of a housing thataccepts a stem of an artificial flower on its top side and that definesan artificial flower attachment protrusion on its bottom side, theartificial flower protrusion has an outer head that narrows toward thebottom side of the artificial flower attachment means so that when theprotrusion is inserted within one of the apertures of the strap, theartificial flower attachment means is secured and attached to the strap;and an artificial flower that defines a stem that is securely insertedwithin the top side of the artificial flower attachment means.
 2. Thefloral design of claim 1, wherein the artificial flower attachment meanscomprises of two separate compartments that snap together after the stemof the flower is inserted within the top side of the artificial flowerattachment means.
 3. The floral design of claim 1, wherein the at leaston artificial flower includes at least one member selected from thegroup consisting of: a daisy, a rose, a tulip, lilac, a garland, and achrysanthemum
 4. The floral design of claim 1, wherein the artificialflower is fluorescent.
 5. The floral design of claim 1, wherein theartificial flower is fabricated from a resilient material that includesat least one member selected from the group consisting of: foam, rubber,and a resilient polymer.
 6. The floral design of claim 1, wherein theartificial flower is interchangeable.